It began in a small, converted house in downtown Houston. The setting of Thelma's Bar B Que was simple, but the extreme barbeque and generous portions always had customers standing in line.
"They cook to please you. They cook with the love that's in their heart," said one customer.
In January, Thelma Williams got a call with the news that the restaurant had burned down in an electrical fire.
"It felt like I lost something, but I kept praying and kept praying," said Thelma.
The former truck driver found herself starting over, but this time she realized her business dream.
"The promised land is right here," said Thelma.
There's new equipment including the barbeque pit, which had to be broken in fast.
"It was smoked two weeks before we opened up. I primed everything," said Thelma. The customers were primed as well.
"I've been without barbeque since it burned. I have not eaten barbeque since it burned," said Cindy Clugy.
Some went months without their Thelma's fix.
"I had people at my job wondering how long it was going to take to get back up just because the food is so good," said JaMaine La Fleur.
For Sarah Conner, it's been worth the wait.
"The sauce has still got that great taste. The meat is good. It's very tender. Tastes the same," said Conner.
It's a story of overcoming a challenge and now enlarging a dream. Thelma's Bar B Que is doing triple the business at its new larger location and Thelma said that is the moral of the story.
"Have a little faith. You don't need but the size of a mustard seed," said Thelma.
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